Officers would need to grant refunds in all cases where the applicant has paid Canada Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) and the applicant has not acquired permanent resident status. The Department would remain obligated to refund the Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) if:

The authorities refuse the application or,

The applicant withdraws the application

The authorities usually provide refunds to the payer (usually the sponsor) in family class cases. Similarly, they provide refunds to the principal applicant in all other cases. In non-family-class cases, they also issue the refund to the principal applicant. It is worth highlighting that the authorities do not issue any refunds to any representatives or third parties.

Family-Class Sponsorship Cases

The authorities will issue refunds in family-class sponsorship cases to the sponsor “on demand” after a negative appeal decision. This is especially so in cases where there are appeal rights. Officers would need to ensure that the authorities have not issued a visa with the applicable visa office abroad. Thereafter, they would need to notify the sponsor that they would be refunding Canada Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) upon receiving a written request only after all appeals have been exhausted.

It is worth mentioning that the withdrawal of sponsorships at any time during the process would result in the refund of Canada Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF). However, the Case Processing Centre would need to advise the visa office abroad of the withdrawal of the sponsorship. Thereafter, it would need to wait for receiving the confirmation that the authorities have not issued a visa prior to processing the refund.

Some sponsorship cases at the Case Processing Centre Mississauga could result in a negative sponsorship recommendation. In this scenario, the sponsor has the option of continuing with the processing of the case or obtaining a refund of the relevant fees paid immediately by withdrawing the application. In case they opt for the latter, they would receive the refund after the authorities have deducted $75 towards the application fee.

Cases Outside the Family Class

In cases outside the family class, the officers would need to initiate the refund of the Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) as soon as they send the letter to the applicant indicating the refusal, the withdrawal or the receipt of an unused permanent resident visa at the visa office. In some situations, the officers might find that the principal applicant is a deceased individual. In this scenario, they would need to make the refund to the estate of the applicant after receiving confirmations from the legal representative of the deceased.

For All Cases

Officers would need to check the “Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF)” field in the following systems for all cases before they issue refunds:

The Field Operations Support System (FOSS)

The Computer Assisted Immigration Processing System (CAIPS)

The Case Processing System (CPS)

In addition, they would also need to check the Computer Assisted Immigration Processing System (CAIPS) notes for ensuring that the:

Applicant paid the fees and,

Authorities have not already issued a refund

In some cases, the officers might find that the authorities have issued a permanent resident visa, which the applicant has not utilised. In this scenario, the officers would need to ensure the return of the visa to the issuing office, before they can process a refund.

The Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) Refund

Depending on the circumstances in the case, the process for refunds could differ.

For Family Class Applicants

Who May Request the Refund: The sponsor

The Issuing Office:

The Case Processing Centre Mississauga or,

The Case Processing Centre Vegreville

For Other Permanent Residence Categories

Who May Request the Refund: The principal applicant

The Issuing Office: The case processing centre (CPC) or the visa office processing the application

If the authorities refuse the application:

The case processing centre (CPC) or the visa office processing the application would need to automatically initiate the refund if the applicant has not filed an appeal

However, if the applicant files an appeal, the authorities would not be able to issue a refund until the rendering of a final decision

If an applicant wishes to withdraw an application:

The applicant would need to provide the request for withdrawal in writing to the responsible office and,

The officers would need to initiate the refund after they receive the withdrawal notice

Note:

Economic and business class applicants outside Canada would be able to pay the Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) online with effect from January 14, 2014

They would be able to do so by using an accepted credit card i.e. Visa, MasterCard and American Express only

For more information on processing refunds for online Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) payments, officers would need to review the Payments abroad section on the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)